Official 1998 Sea Ray Sundancer 290 Thread

Like Strecker said. If you want to fly up on plane and run 45 MPH everywhere you go, then twin 4.3's will not be for you. If you don't mind taking your time planing out and cruising at 28 mph, 4.3's are tough motors and will perform just fine.

We love our boat!! The best boating investment we ever made.

Here's a couple things to look for after owning mine for almost a year and a half (and a 268 for 10 years previous to this one):

1. Look for water leaks coming through the transom brackets and into the bilge. The Mercruiser outdrives will leak around the steering shaft pins. $1400-$1600 per lower unit to pull the motor and replace the pin and seal assembly. Ask me how I know..LOL.

2. Make sure the lower unit boots look good. No cracks or rips. They will also replace those when you have the steering pins and seals fixed. :)

3. Listen for gimbal bearing noise (howl or vibration in neutral). Inexpensive fix.

4. The way these boats are designed and built, it is hard to access some of the systems mid-ship. Poke your head down in there and look for leaks during your sea trial. Area's to look at are of course the bilge, but also inside the step going down into the cabin (storage area). There is a sump under there that catches and pumps out the shower water. It doesn't hurt to poke your head in there and look for water and leaks.

5. The Lazarette (trunk) leaks on all 290's every time it rains. It's annoying. Menards sells a strip of sticky sided seal in the screen door area that works well to seal that transom door.;)

6. Have a good survey done and do a sea trial to make sure it's the boat you want.

These are great boats. Have fun!
 
Thanks for the info. I am hesitating on getting twins now mostly because of maint costs. I am a disabled vet with less income than I used to have, and pretty sure I can handle maint costs on a single, but have heard terrible stories of maint costs on twins!
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info. I am hesitating on getting twins now mostly because of maint costs. I am a disabled vet and pretty sure I can handle maint costs on a single, but have heard terrible stories of maint costs on twins!

Thank you for your service!

Maintenance costs and ease were the two selling points for our 290 with the single 7.4 with Bravo III outdrive. I think less weight in the back helps with performance too as it seems my boat has slightly better performance numbers than the boats with the twin 4.3's. You loose the back up motor if one goes down, but that just makes you pay closer attention to maintenance;).
 
.... pretty sure I can handle maint costs on a single, but have heard terrible stories of maint costs on twins!.....

It's just 2x the cost. :D

But seriously buy the best boat you can with in your budget and have a few boat bucks saved up for future repairs. I've often wondered if some of the bigger boats at the marina collecting dust is because the owners could not pay for a repair. :(

I bought mine going in knowing it was a bit of a project and was negotiated accordingly after the survey.... and after 3 years of ownership with a good number of DIY hours as well as a few marina bills I'm still smiling.
 
Question for the group.

I have the Kohler 4kW generator on LDII and I'm trying to find where the Oil Presser Sensor is located. I have the parts list and the diagram but it doesn't show where it's located. Anyone have to change theirs?
 
Can someone tell where the AC compressor and drip pan are typically located in 2001 290 Sundancer?
 
Can someone tell where the AC compressor and drip pan are typically located in 2001 290 Sundancer?
Pull the grill off by the step going down in the cabin and you can see it . There is also a access panel in the bed room area.
 
Pull the grill off by the step going down in the cabin and you can see it . There is also a access panel in the bed room area.
Ok great, thanks very much!

Do you know if that’s also where the temp sensor is located? I think mine is NG. The cabin temp on the control panel doesn’t go down, so the AC stays on, after the cabin cools down. I had a separate thermometer reading 74 but the display temp was at 86. I recalibrated the controller down to 74, but it seems to be stuck there, even after the cabin dropped to about 68 on the separate thermometer.

I’m not even sure if the temp sensor would be available, but figured I’d give it a try if I can find it, lol.
 
Ok great, thanks very much!

Do you know if that’s also where the temp sensor is located? I think mine is NG. The cabin temp on the control panel doesn’t go down, so the AC stays on, after the cabin cools down. I had a separate thermometer reading 74 but the display temp was at 86. I recalibrated the controller down to 74, but it seems to be stuck there, even after the cabin dropped to about 68 on the separate thermometer.

I’m not even sure if the temp sensor would be available, but figured I’d give it a try if I can find it, lol.
you have to pull the big panel off in the aft cabin, the temp sensor is in front of the coil intake but its tough to get to from the front. I actually moved mine when I had the 290 because it never read correctly. You can adjust the temperature from the control panel as well (within like 8 degrees I think)
 
you have to pull the big panel off in the aft cabin, the temp sensor is in front of the coil intake but its tough to get to from the front. I actually moved mine when I had the 290 because it never read correctly. You can adjust the temperature from the control panel as well (within like 8 degrees I think)

Ok great thanks for the heads up. I adjusted it at the control panel, from 88 to 74, but it seems to be stuck at 75 now. I found cruisair catalog #’s for temp sensors with different length wires. I’ll take a look behind that access panel and see if I can move it or maybe replace it.
 
you have to pull the big panel off in the aft cabin, the temp sensor is in front of the coil intake but its tough to get to from the front. I actually moved mine when I had the 290 because it never read correctly. You can adjust the temperature from the control panel as well (within like 8 degrees I think)
Where did you move it to, and did that solve the problem?
 
Where did you move it to, and did that solve the problem?

just closer to the stairs wedged behid the grill. Yes, it made a difference by a few degrees and I was able to adjust the thermostat to closer match the actual cabin temp

My biggest complaint on the boats AC setup was the noise but I think it was just the old unit getting tired. I toyed with replacement but they weren't cheap
 
My biggest complaint on the boats AC setup was the noise but I think it was just the old unit getting tired. I toyed with replacement but they weren't cheap

Having the unit installed backwards probably didn't help much with the noise. I bet if it was turned around it would have been noticeably quieter.

Is the temp sensor the wire that comes around from the side in this picture?

2v2umMWp5xf2ik.jpg
 
Having the unit installed backwards probably didn't help much with the noise. I bet if it was turned around it would have been noticeably quieter.

Is the temp sensor the wire that comes around from the side in this picture?

View attachment 91282
yup, thats it. there's lots of slack in it too so you can move it around. I think it should be somewhere around the galley area out of the way of the blowing air duct but mounting it out of sight might be tough. Sometimes I just pulled mine through the gate and set it on the step (mostly at night) otherwise the AC would cycle constantly
 
just closer to the stairs wedged behid the grill. Yes, it made a difference by a few degrees and I was able to adjust the thermostat to closer match the actual cabin temp

My biggest complaint on the boats AC setup was the noise but I think it was just the old unit getting tired. I toyed with replacement but they weren't cheap
The previous owner showed me how much quieter it is if you lift the step up. I know it then blocks the return air flow, but it didn’t slow down the cooling at all.
 
yup, thats it. there's lots of slack in it too so you can move it around. I think it should be somewhere around the galley area out of the way of the blowing air duct but mounting it out of sight might be tough. Sometimes I just pulled mine through the gate and set it on the step (mostly at night) otherwise the AC would cycle constantly
Yes, mine cycles constantly..I like the idea of pulling it out into the cabin, to get a better reading, at least while we’re sleeping
 
yup, thats it. there's lots of slack in it too so you can move it around. I think it should be somewhere around the galley area out of the way of the blowing air duct but mounting it out of sight might be tough. Sometimes I just pulled mine through the gate and set it on the step (mostly at night) otherwise the AC would cycle constantly
I would’ve thought the con
Have you performed a factory reset?

That might help if some setting is out of whack.

Oh ok, thanks. Didn’t think of that, and doesn’t seem like there’s any risk trying it. It’s not like it’s my phone, lol!
 
Question to my 98 290 group. Is there a fuse to the ac unit? I went to rhe boat today and i turned on tye circuit breaker to the ac like i normally do bit the control panel does not turn on. Its like it has no power to it. Checked under the steering wheel and in the door at the back but nothing says ac and nothing is blown. Just dont know where to start. I figured its a fuse because i also disconected from shore power and ran the genny and same thing. Nothing
 
I'm curious about battery types and how you guys are setup. I have (3) Interstate 27M-XHD cranking batteries (1000CA, 800CCA). Two are paralleled for house loads and port engine starting. The other one starts the starboard engine.

Is that typically what you guys have, or are you using deep cycle, multi-purpose, or some combination of those types?

Also, any thoughts on wet cell/flooded vs AGM? I know AGM is much more expensive, but I've read that the life span probably pays for itself.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,861
Members
60,932
Latest member
juliediane
Back
Top